.&76 




>f the 
no 



GRANT AND SCHURZ ON THE SOUTH. 



LETTER OF GENERAL GRANT CONCERNING AFFAIRS AT THE 
SOUTH, AND EXTRACTS FROM A REPORT BY CARL SCHURZ 
SUBMITTED TO PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON 
AND BY HIM COMMUNICATED TO CONGRESS ' 
DECEMBER 19, 1865. 



LETTER OF GENERAL GRANT CONCERNING 
AFFAIRS AT THE SOUTH. 

Headquarters 
Armies op the United States, 

Washington, D. (]., Dec. 1H, 1805. 

Sir: In reply to your note of the 16th in- 
stant, requesting a report from me giving such 
information as 1 may be possessed of coming 
within the scope of the inquiries made by the 
Senate of the United States in their resolution 
of the 12th instant, I have the honor to submit 
the following : 

With your approval, and also that of the hon- 
orable Secretary of War, I left Washington City 
on the 27th of last month for the purpose of 
making a tour of inspection through some of 
the Southern States, or States lately in rebellion, 
and to see what changes were necessary to be 
made in the disposition of the military forces 
of the country ; how these forces could be re- 
duced and expenses curtailed, &c; and to learn, 
as far as possible, the feelings and intentions of 
the citizens of those States towards the general 
government. 

The Statu of Virginia being so accessible to 
Washington City, and information from this 
quarter, therefore, being readily obtained, I 
hastened through the State without conversing 
or meeting with any of its citizens. In Raleigh, 
N. C, I spent one day ; in Charleston, S. C, 
two days; Savannah and Augusta, Ga. , each 
one day. Both in travelling and while stopping 
I saw much and conversed freeley with the citi- 
zens of those States as well as with officers of 
the army who have been stationed among them. 
The following are the conclusions come to by 
me. 

I am satisfied that the mass of thinking men 
of the South accept the present situation of af- 
\ fairs in good faith. The questions which have 
heretofore divided the sentiment of the people 
\f the two sections — slavery and State rights, 
\- the right of a State to secede from the Union 
,. 'hey regard as having been settled forever by 

n highest tribunal — arms — that man can re- 

, V. I was pleased to learn from the lead- 

• Vm whom I met that they not only ac- 

ments ne c ^ ec ' s ' 011 arrived at as final, but, now 

„„„„. nnoke of battle has cleared away and 
guage . \ ■> 



time has been given for reflect ion, that this de- 
cision has been a fortunate one for the whole 
country, they receiving like benefits from it 
with those who opposed them in the field and 
in council. 

Four years of war, during which law wan ex- 
ecuted only at the point of the bayonet through- 
out the States in rebellion, have left the people 
possibly in a condition not to yield that ready 
obedience to civil authority the American peo- 
ple have generally been in the habit of yielding. 
This would render the presence of small gar- 
risons throughout those States necessary until 
such time as labor returns to its proper chan- 
nel, and civil authority is fully established. I 
did not meet any one, either those holding 
places under the government or citizens of the 
Southern Stafes, who think it practicable to 
withdraw the military from the South at present. 
The white and the black mutually require the 
protection ot the general government. 

There is such universal acquiescence in the 
authority of the general government through- 
out the portions of country visited by me, that 
the mere presence of a military force, without 
regard to numbers, is sufficient to maintain or- 
der. The good of the country, and economy, 
require that the force kept in the interior, where 
there are many freedmen', (elsewhere in the 
Southern States than at forts upon the seacoast 
no force is necessary,) should all be white 
troops. The reasons for this are obvious with- 
out mentioning many of therm The presence 
of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes la- 
bor, both by their advic-j and by furnishing in 
their camps a resort for the freedmen for long 
distances around. White troops generally ex- 
cite no opposition, and therefore a small num- 
ber of them can maintain order in a given dis- 
trict. Colored troops must be kept in bodies 
sufficient to defend themselves, it is not the 
thinking men who wonld use violence towards 
any class of troops sent among them by the 
general government, but the ignorant in some 
places might ; and the late slave seems to be 
imbued with the idea that the properly of his 
late master should, by right, belong to him, or 
at least should have no protection from the col- 
ored soldier. There is danger of collisions be- 
ing brought on by such ean a r^. 



\ 

/ 



w 



€^z 



.tly observations lead me to the conclusion 

ml the citizens of I he Southern States auc 

anxious lo return to self-go vern/nent, within 

the Union, as soon as possible : that whilst re 
constructing they want and require protection 
from I lie government ; that they are in earnest 
in wishing to <lo what they think is required by 

the government, not humiliating to them as 
citizens, and that if such a course were pointed 
out, they would pursue it in good faith. It. is 
to he regretted that there cannot be a greater 
oommirtgling, at this time, between the citizens 
of i lie two sections, and particularly of those 
intrusted with the law-making power. 

I did not give the operations of the F reed- 
men's Bureau that attention I would have done 
i( more time had been at my disposal. Con- 
versations on the subject, however, with officers 
connected with the bureau, lead me to think 
that, in some of the States, its affairs have not 
been conducted with good judgment or economy, 
and that the belief, widely spread among the 
freedmen of the Southern States, that the lands 
ol their former owners will, at least in part, be 
divided among them, has come from agents of 
this bureau. This belief is seriously interfer- 
ing with the willingness of the freedmen to 
make contracts for the coming year. In some 
form the Freedmen's Bureau is an absolute tie- 
oessity until civil law is established and en- 
forced, securing to the freedmen their rights and 
full protection. At present, however, it is in- 
dependent of the military establishment of the 
country, and seems to be operated by the differ- 
ent agents of the bureau according to their in- 
dividual notions. Everywhere General Howard, 
the able head of the bureau, made friends by 
the just and fair instructions and advice he 
gave ; but the complaint in South Carolina was 
that when he left, things went on as before. 
Many, perhaps the majority, of the agents of 
the Freedmen's Bureau advise the freedmen 
that by their own industry they must expect to 
live. To this end they endeavor to secure em- 
ployment for them, and to see that both con- 
tracting parties comply with their engagements. 
In some instances, 1 am sorry to say, the freed- 
mau's mind does not seem to be disabused of 
the idea that a freedman has the right to live 
without care or provision for the future. The 
effect of the belief in division of lands is idle- 
ness and accumulation in camps, towns, and 
cities. In such cases I think it will be found 
that vice and disease will tend to the extermi- 
nation or great, reduction of the colored race. 
It cannot, be expected that the opinions held by 
men at the South for years can be changed in a 
day, and therefore the freedmen require, for a 
few years, not, only laws to protect them, but 
the fostering care of those who will give them 
good counsel, and on whom they rely. 

The Freedmen's Bureau being separated from 
the military establishment of the country, re- 
quires all the expense of a separate organiza- 
tion. One does not necessarily know what, the 
other is doing, or what orders they are acting 
under. It seems to me this could be corrected 
by regarding every officer on duty with troops 



in the Southern States as an agent of the Freed - 
men's Bureau, and then have all orders from 
Hie head of the hureau sent, through department 
commanders. This would create a responsi- 
bility that would secure uniformity of action 
throughout all the South ; would insure the 
orders and instructions from the head of the 
bureau being carried out, and would relieve 
from duty and pay a large number of employees 
of the government. 

1 have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
your obedient servant, 

U. S. GRANT, 

Lieutenant General. 

His Excellency Andrew Johxsox, 

President of the United States. 



Grant's letter exhibits his characteristic can- 
dor, consistency and freedom from prejudice, 
showing his desire for harmony, peace, and re- 
trenchment of expenses connected with the ad- 
ministration of affairs. Schurz's report is 
lengthy and sensational, in which the personal 
pronoun I figures very extensively ; and it is 
anything but flattering to the people of the 
South, whether white or colored. Although he 
says that "he has conscientiously endeavored 
to see things as they were, and to represent them 
as he saw them," the great inconsistency be- 
tween his views then and his recent utterances 
must be apparent to the most casual observer 
of his vacillating political course. 



REPORT OF CARL SCHURZ ON THE STATES 
OF SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, ALA- 
BAMA, MISSISSIPPI, AND LOUISIANA. 

Sin : When you did me the honor of selecting 
me for a mission to the States lately in rebellion, 
for the purpose of inquiring into the existing 
condition of things, of laying before you what- 
ever information of importance I might gather, 
and of suggesting to you such measures as my ' 
observations would lead me to believe advisable, 
I accepted the trust with a profound sense of 
the responsibility connected with the perform- 
ance of the task. The views I entertained at 
the time, I bad communicated to you in frequent 
letters and conversations. I would not have ac- 
cepted the mission, bad I not felt that whatever 
preconceived opinions I might carry with me to, 
the liouth, I should be ready to abandon or mot) 
ify, as my perception of facts and circumstanc 
might command their abandonment or modif 
tion. You informed me that your " policy 
construction" was merely experiruenta} 
that, you would change it if the experhr 
not, lead to satisfactory results. To ai/ 
forming your conclusions upon this pQ 
derstood to be the object of my missigf 
uudevetandinsf was in perfect ucc<>y 



* the written instructions I received through the 
Secretary of War. 

These instructions confined my mission to the 
States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and the department of the Gulf. I 
informed you, before leaving the North, that I 
could not well devote more than three months 
to the duties imposed upon me, and that space 
of time proved sufficient for me to visit all the 
States above enumerated, except Texas. 

****** 

.Before laying the results of my observations 
before you, it is proper that I should state the 
modus operandi by which I obtained informa- 
tion and formed my conclusions. Wherever I 
went I sought interviews with persons who 
might be presumed to represent the opinions, or 
to have influence upon the conduct, of their 
neighbors; I had thus frequent meetings with 
individuals belonging to the different classes of 
society from the highest to the lowest ; in the 
cities as well as on the roads and steamboats I 
had many opportunities to converse not only 
with inhabitants of the adjacent country, but 
with persons coming from districts which I was 
not able to visit ; and finally I compared the 
impressions thus received with the experience 
of the military and civil officers of the govern- 
ment stationed in that country, as well as of 
other reliable Union men to whom a longer resi- 
dence ob the spot aud a more varied intercourse 
with people had given better facilities of local 
observation than my circumstances permitted 
me to enjoy. When practicable I procured state- 
ments of their views and experience in writing 
as well as copies of official or private reports 
they had received from, their subordinates or 
ether persons. It was not expected of me that 
I should take formal testimony, and, indeed, such 
an operation would have required more time 
than I was able to devote to it. 

RETURNING LOYALTY. 

It is a well-known fact that in the States of 
Tennessee and North Carolina, the number of 
white Unionists who, during the war, actively 
aided the government, or at least openly pro- 
fessed their attachment to the cause of the Un- 
ion, was very small. In none of these States 
were they strong enough to exercise any de- 
cisive; influence upon the aetion of the people, 
not even in Louisiana, unless rigorously support- 
ed by the power of the general government. 
But the white people at large being under cer- 
tain conditions charged with taking the prelim- 
inaries of " reconstruction " into their hands, 
the success of the experiment depends upon the 
spirit and attitude of those who either attached 
themselves to the secession cause from the be- 
ginning, or, entertaining origrnally opposite 
views, at least followed its fortunes from the time 
that their States had declared their separation 
from the Union. 

The first southern men of this class with 
whom I came into contact immediately after my 
arrival in South Carolina expressed their senti- 
ments almost literally in the following lan- 
guage : " We acknowledge ourselves beaten, 



and we are ready to submit to the result of the 
war. The war has practically decided that no 
State shall secede and that the slaves are eman- 
cipated. We cannot be expected at once to give 
up our principles and convictions of right, but. 
we accept facts as they are, and desire to be re- 
instated as soon as pjssible in the enjoyment. 
and exercise of our political rights " This de 
claration was repeated to me hundreds of times 
in every State 1 visited, with some variations of 
language, according to the different ways of 
thinking, or the frankness or reserve of the dif- 
ferent speakers. Some said nothing of adhering 
to their old principles aud convictions of right ; 
others still argued against the constitutionality 
of coercion and of the emancipation proclama- 
tion, others expressed their determination to be- 
come good citizens in strong language, and urged 
with equal emphasis the necessity of their home 
institutions being at once left, to their own con- 
trol ; others would go so far as to say they were 
glad that the war was ended, and they had never 
any confidence in the confederacy : others pro- 
tested that they had been opposed to secession 
until their States went out, aud then yielded to 
the current of events. Some would me give to un- 
derstand that they had always been good Union 
men at heart, and rejoiced that the war had 
terminated in favor of the national cause, but in 
most cases such a sentiment was expressed only 
in a whisper ; others again would grumblingly 
insist upon the restoration of their " rights," as 
if they had done no wrong, and indicated plainly 
that they would submit only to what they could 
not resist and as long as they could not resist it. 
Such were the definitions of " returning loyalty'' 
I received. 

Upon the ground of these declarations, and 
other evidence gathered in the course of my ob- 
servations, I may group the Southern people 
into four classes, each of which exercises an in- 
fluence upon the development of things in that 
section : 

1. Those who, although having yielded sub- 
mission to the national government only when 
obliged to do so, have a clear perception of the 
irreversible ciiauges produced by the war, and 
honestly endeavor to accommodate themselves 
to the new order of things. Many of them are 
not free from traditional prejudice but open to 
conviction, and may be expected to ace in good 
faith whatever they do. This class is composed, 
in its majority, of persons of mature age — plant- 
ers, merchants, and professional men ; some of 
them are active in the reconstruction movement. 
but boldness and energy are, with a few indi- 
vidual exceptions, not among their distinguish- 
ing qualities. 

2. Those whoso principal object is to have the 
States without delay restored to their position 
and influence in the Union and the people of the 
States to the absolute control of their home con- 
cerns. They are ready, in order to attain that 
object, to make any ostensible concessions that trill 
not prevent them from arranging things to suit 
their taste as soon as that object is attained. 
This class comprises a considerable number' 
probably a large majority, of the professional 






politicians who are extremely active in the re 
construction movement. They are loud in their 
praise of the President's reconstruction policy, 
and clamorous for the withdrawal of the Feleral 
troops and the abolition of the Freedmen's Biv- 
reau. 

3. The incorrigibles, who still indulge in the 
swagger which was so customary before and dur- 
ing the war, and still hope for a time when the 
Southern confederac} r will achieve its indepen- 
dence. This class consists mostly of young men, 
and comprises the loiterers of the towns and the 
idlers of the country. They persecute Union 
men and negroes whenever they can do so with 
impunity, insist clamorously upon their "rights," 
and are extremely impatient of the presence of 
the Federal soldiers. A good many of them have 
taken the oath of aUegiaruu and amnesty, and as- 
sociated themselves with the second clans in their 
political operations. This element is by no 
means unimportant ; it is strong in numbers, 
deals in brave talk, addresses itself directly and 
incessantly to the passions and prejudices of the 
masses, and commands the admiration of the 
women. 

4. Tlie multitude of people who have no defi- 
nite ideas about the circumstances under which 
they live and about the course they have to fol- 
low ; whose intellects are weak, but whose pre- 
judices and impulses are strong, and who are 
apt to be, carried along by those who know how 
lo appeal to thejatter. 

But whatever their differences may be, on one 
point they are agreed.: further resistance to the 
power of the national government is useless, and 
submission to its authority a matter of neces- 
sity. It is true, the right of secession in theory 
is still believed in by most of those who for- 
merly believed in it ; some are still entertaining 
a vague hope of seeing it realized at some future 
time, but all give it up as a practical impossi- 
bility for the present. 

OATH-TAKING. 

Of those who have not yet taken the oath of 
allegiance most belong to the class of indifferent 
people who "do not care one way or the other." 
There are still some individuals who find the 
oath to be a confession of defeat and a declara- 
tion of submission too humiliating and too re- 
pugnant to their feeling. It is to be expected 
that the former will gradually overcome their 
apathy and the latter their sensitiveness, and 
that at a not remote day, all will have qualified 
themselves, in point of form, to resume the right 
of citizenship. 

PEELING TOWARD THE SOLDIERS AXD PEOPLE OF 
Tllli NORTH. 

No instance has come to my notice in which 
the people of a city or a rural district, cordially 
fraternized with the army. Here and there the 
soldiers, were welcomed as protectors against 
apprehended dangers ; but general exhibitions 
of cordiality on the part, of the population I 
have not heard of. There are, indeed, honor- 
able individual exceptions to this rule. Many 



persons, mostly belonging to the first of the 
four classes above enumerated, are honestly 
Striving to soften down the bitter feelings and 
traditional antipathies of their neighbors : 
others, who are acting more upon motives of 
policy than inclination, maintain pleasant re-> 
lations with the officers of the government. 
But. upon the whole, the soldier of the Union 
is still looked upon as a stranger, an intruder — 
as the "Yankee," " the enemy" It would be 
superfluous to enumerate instances of insult 
offered to our soldiers, and even to officers high 
in command ; the existence and intensity of 
this aversion is too well known to those who 
have served or are now serving in the South to 
require proof. 

This feeling of aversion and resentment, with 
regard to our soldiers may, perhaps, be called 
natural. The animosities inflamed by a four 
years' war, and its distressing incidents, cannot 
be easily overcome. But they extend beyond 
the limits ot the army, to the people of the 
North. I have read in Southern papers bitter 
complaints about the unfriendly spirit exhibited 
by the Northern people — complaints not tin* 
frequently flavored with an admixture of vitu- 
peration. But, as far as my experience goes, 
the " unfriendly spirit " exhibited in the North 
is all mildness and affection compared with the 
popular temper which in the South vents itself 
in a variety of ways ami on all possible occa- 
sions. No observing Northern, man can come 
into contact with the different classes composing 
Southern society without noticing it. Be may 
be received in social circles with great polite- 
ness, even with apparent cordiality ; but soon 
he will become aware that, although he may be 
esteemed as a man, he is detested as a " Yan-« 
kee," and, as the conversation becomes a little 
more confidential and throws off ordinary re- 
straint, he .is not unfrequently told so; the 
word "Yankee" still signifies to them those 
traits of character which the Southern press 
has been so long in the habit of attributing to 
the Northern people; and whenever they look 
around them upon the traces of the war, they 
see in them, not the consquences of their own 
folly, but the evidences of " Yankee wicked- 
ness." 

SITUATION OK UNIONISTS. 

It struck me, soon after my r arrival in the 
South, that the known Unionists — I mean those 
who, during the war, had been to a certain ex- 
tent identified with the national cause — were 
not in communion with the leading social and 
political circles ; and tiie further my observa- 
tions extended tlie clearer it became to me that 
their existence in the South was of a rather 
precarious nature. Already in Charleston, S. 
C, my attention was called to the current talk 
among the people, that when they had the con- 
trol of things once more in their own hands, 
and were no longer restrained by the presence 
of "Yankee" soldiers, men of Dr. Mackey's 
stamp would not be permitted to live then:. 



WHAT HAS BfcEN ACCOMPLISHED. 

While the generosity and toleration shown 
by the government to the people lately in re- 
bellion has not met with a corresponding gen- 
erosity shown by those people to the govern^ 
merit's friends, it has brought forth some results 
which, if properly developed, will becom e of 
value. It' has facilitated the re-establishment, 
of the from s of civil government, and led many 
ot those who had been active in the rebellion to 
take part in the act of bringing back the States 
1o" their constitutional relations ; and if noth- 
ing else were'necessary than the mere putting 
in operation of the mere machinery of govern- 
ment in point of form, and not also the accep- 
tance of the results of the war and their de- 
velopment in point of spirit, these results, al- 
though as yet incomplete, might be called a satis- 
factory advance in the right direction. 

But as to the moral value of these results, we 
must not indulge in any delusions. There are 
two principal points t,o which I beg to call your 
attention. In the first place, the rapid return to 
power and influence of so many of those who 
_ but recently wore engaged in a bitter war against 
the Union, han had one effect which was cer- 
tainly not originally contemplated by the govern- 
ment. Treason does, under existing circum. 
stances, not appear odious in the South. The 
people are not impressed with any sense of its 
cirminality. And, secondly, there is, as yet, 
among the Southern people an utter absence of 
national feeling. I made it a business, while in 
the South, to watch the symptoms of " return- 
ing loyalty " as they appeared not only in pri- 
vate conversation, but in the public press and in 
the speechs delivered and the resolutions passed 
at Union meetings. Hardly ever was there an 
expression of hearty attachment to the great re- 
public, or an appeal to the impulses of patriot- 
ism ; but whenever submission to the national 
authority was declared and advocated, it was 
almost uniformly placed upon two principal 
grounds : That, under present circumstances, the 
Southern people could " do no better ; " and then 
that submission was the only means by which 
they could rid themselves of the federal soldiers 
and obtain once more control of their own affairs. 
Some of the speakers may have been inspired by 
higher motives, but upon these two arguments 
they had principally to rely whenever they 
wanted to make an impression upon. the popular 
mind. While admitting that, at present, we 
have perhapSgiio right to expect anything better 
than this submission — loyalty which springs 
from necessity and calculation — I do not consider 
it safe for the government to base expectations 
upon it, which the manner in which it manifests 
itself does not justify. 

KU-KLUX IN J8G5. 

The organization of civil government is re- 
lieving the military, to a great extent, of its 
police duties and judicial functions ; but at the 
time I left the South it was still very far from 
showing a satisfactory efficiency in the mainte- 



nance of order and security. In many districts 
robbing and plundering was going on* with per- 
fect impunity : the roads were infested by bands 
of highwaymen ; numerous assaults occurred, 
and several stage lines were considered unsafe. 
It is stated that civil officers are either unwilling 
or unable to enforce the law; that one man 
does not dars to testify against another for fear 
of being murdered, and that the better elements 
of society are kept down by lawless characters 
under a system of terrorism. Both the Govern- 
ors of Alabama and Mississippi complained of it 
in official proclamations. Such a state of demor- 
alization would call for extraordinary measures 
in. any country, and it is difficult to conceive how, 
in the face of the, inefficiency of the civil author) 
ties, the removal of the troops can bethought of. 



It is well known that the levying of taxes for 
the payment of the interest on our national debt 
is, and will continue to be, very unpopular in 
the South. It is true no striking demonstrations 
have as yet been made of any decided unwilling- 
ness on the part of the people to contribute to 
the discharge of our national obligations, But 
most of the conversations I had with Southern- 
ers upon this subject led me to apprehend that 
they, politicians and people, arc rathe;- inclined 
to ask money of the government as compensation 
for their emancipated slaves, for the rebuilding of 
the levees on the Mississippi, and various kinds 
of damage done by our armies for military pur- 
poses, than, as the current expression is, to "help 
pay the excuses of the whipping they have re- 
ceived. 

THE SOUTHERN PEOPLE EXPECT TO BE PAID 
EOH EMANCIPATED SLAVES BY THE GENERAL 
GOVERNMENT, AND ARE OPPOSED TO BEiX*! 
TAXED TO HELP PAY THE NATIONAL DEBT. 

In fact there are abundant indications which 
render it eminently probable that, on the claim 
of compensation for their emancipated slaves, 
the Southern States, as soon as readmitted to 
Congress, will be-almost a unit. In the- Missis- 
sippi convention the idea was broached in an 
elaborate speech, to have the late slave States 
relieved from taxation "for years to come " in 
consideration of debt due them for emancipated 
slaves. 

I need not go into details as to tin- efforts 
made in some of the Southern States in favor 
of the assumption by those States of their debts 
contracted during the rebellion. i 

It may be assumed with certainty that those 
who want to have the Southeru people, poor as 
thev are, taxed for the payment of rebel debts, 
do not mean to have them taxed for the purpose 
of meeting our national obligations. But what- 
ever devices may be resorted to, present indica- 
tions justify the apprehension that, the enforce- 
ment of our revenue laws mil 'meet wtih a. refrac- 
tory spirit, and may require sterner meaaures 
than the mere sending of revenue officers into 
that part of the country. 



> 



6 



THE LABOR QUESTION. 

When the war came to a close the labor sys- 
tem of the South was already much disturbed. 
In some localities, where our troops had not yet 
penetrated, and where no military post was 
within reach, planters endeavored and partially 
succeeded in maintaining between themselves 
and the negroes the relation of master and 
slave, partly by concealing from them the great 
changes that had taken place, and partly by ter- 
rorizing them into submission to their behests. 
But aside from these exceptions, the country 
found itself thrown into that confusion which is 
naturally inseparable from a change so great 
and so sudden. The white people were afraid 
of the negroes, and the negroes did not trust the 
white people; the military power of the na- 
tional government stood there, and was looked 
up to as the protector of both. 

GENERAL TREATMENT OP THE NEGRO. 

A belief, conviction, or prejudice, or whatever 
you may call it, so widely spread and apparent- 
ly so deeply rooted, as this, that the negro will 
not work without physical compulsion, is cer- 
tainly calculated to have a very serious influence 
upon the conduct of the people entertaining it. 
It naturally produced a desire to preserve 
slavery in its original form as much and as long 
as possible — and you may, perhaps, remember 
the admission made by one of the provisional 
governors, over two months after the close of. 
the war, that the people of his State still in- 
dulged in a lingering hope slavery might yet be 
preserved — or to introduce into the new system 
that element of physical compulsion which 
would make the negro work. Efforts were, in- 
deed, made to hold the negro in his old state of 
subjection, especially in such localities where our 
military forces had not yet penetrated, or where 
the country was not garrisoned in detail. Here 
and there planters succeeded for a limited period 
to keep their former slaves in ignorance, or at 
least doubt, about their new rights ; but the 
main agency employed for that purpose was 
force and intimidation. In many instances ne- 
groes who walked away from the plantations, or 
were found upon the roads, were shot or other- 
v.ise severely punished, which was calculated to 
produce the impression among those remaining 
with their masters that au attempt to escape 
from slavery would result in certain destruction. 
* * i .. * * * * 

Brigadier General Fessenden reports : — "A 
spirit of bitterness and persecution manifests it- 
self towards the negroes. They are shot and 
abused, outside the immediate protection of our 
forces, by men who announce their determination 
to take the law into their own hands, in defiance of 
our authority. To protect the negro and punish 
these still rebellious individuals it will be neces- 
sary to have their country pretty thickly settled 
with soldiers." 



The habit is so inveterate with a great many 
persons as to render ou the least provocation, 



the impulse to whip a negro almost irresistible. 
It will continue to be so until the Southern peo- 
ple will have learned, so as never to forget it, that 
a Mart man has rights 'which a white man is bound 
to respect. 

So far the spirit of persecution has shown it- 
self so strong as to make the protection of the 
freedman by the military arm of the government 
in many localities necessary — in almost all, de- 
sirable. 

EDUCATION OF THE FREEDMEN. 

I was forced to the conclusion that, aside from 
a° small number of honorable exceptions, the 
popular, prejudice is almost as bitterly set against 
the negro's having the advantage of education 
as it was when the negro was a slave. There 
may be an improvement in that respect, but it 
would prove only how universal the prejudice 
was in former days. Hundreds of times I heard 
the old assertion repeated, that "learning will 
spoil the nigger for work," and that " negro 
education will be the ruin of the South." An- 
other most singular notion still holds a potent 
sway over the minds of the masses — it is, that 
the elevation of the blacks will be the degrada- 
tion of the whites. They do not understand 
yet that the continual contact with an ignorant 
and degraded populatien must necessarily lower 
the mental and moral tone of the other classes of 
society. This they might have learned from 
actual experience, as we in the North have been 
taught, also by actual experience, that the educa- 
tion of the lower orders is the only reliable basis 
of the civilization as well as of the prosperity of 
a people. 

The consequence of the prejudice prevailing 
in the Southern States is that colored schools 
can be established and carried on with safety 
only under the protection of our military forces, 
and that where the latter are withdrawn the 
former have to go with them. There may be a 
few localities forming exceptions, but their num- 
ber is certainly very small. 

THE REACTIONARY TENDENCY. 

I stated above that, in my opinion, the solu- 
tion of the social problem in the South did not 
depend upon the capacity and conduct of the 
negro alone, but in the same measure upon the 
ideas and feelings entertained and acted upon 
by the whites. What their ideas and feelings 
were while under my observation, and how they 
affected the contact of the two races, I have al- 
ready set forth. The question arises, what pob 
icy will be adopted by the " ruling class " when 
all restraint imposed upon them by the military 
power of the national government is withdrawn, 
and they are left free to regulate matters accord- 
ing to their own tastes'? It would be presump- 
tuous to speak of the future with absolute cer- 
tainty ; but it may safely be assumed that the 
same causes will always tend to produce the 
same effects. As long as a majority of the 
Southern people believe that " the negro will 
not work without physical compujsion," and 
that " the blacks at large belong to the whites 
sit large," that belief will fiend to produce a sys- 



tern of coercion, the enforcement of which will 
be aided by the hostile feeling against the negro 
now prevailing among the whiles, and by the 
general spirit of violence which in the South 
was fostered by the influence slavery exercised 
upon the popular character. It is, indeed, not 
probable that a general attempt will be made to 
restore slavery in its old form, on account of the 
barriers which such an attempt would find in 
its way; but there are systems intermediate 
between slavery as it formerly existed in the 
South, and free labor as it exists in the North, 
but more nearly related to the former than to 
the latter, the introduction of which will be at- 
tempted. 

* « * ' * * * 

When speaking of popular demonstrations in 
the South in favor of submission to the govern 
ment, I stated that the principal and almost the 
only argument used was, that they found them- 
selves in a situation in which " they could do no 
better." It was the same thing with regard to 
the abolition of slavery ; wherever abolition 
was publicly advocated, whether in popular 
meetings or in State conventions, it was on the 
ground of necessity — not unfrequently with the 
significant addition that, as soon as they had 
once more control of their own State affairs, 
they could settle the labor question to suit 
themselves, whatever they might have to sub- 
mit to for the present. Not only did I find this 
to be the common talk among the people, but 
the same sentiment was openly avowed by pub- 
lic men in speech and print. 
WHY THE SOUTHERN PEOPLE ARE SO PERVERSE. 

One reason why the Southern people are so 
slow in accommodating themselves to the new 
order of things is, that they confidently expect 
soon to be permitted to regulate matters accord- 
ing to their own notions. Every concession 
made to them by the government has been taken 
as an encouragement to persevere in this hope, 
and, unfortunately for them, this hope is nour- 
ished by influences from other parts of the coun- 
try. Hence their anxiety to have their State 
governments restored at once, to have the troops 
withdrawn, and the Freedmen's Bureau abol- 
ished, although a good many discerning men 
know well that, in view of the lawless spirit 
still prevailing, it would be far better for them 
to. have the general order of society firmly main- 
tained by the Federal power until things have 
arrived at a final settlement.' Had, from the be- 
ginning, the conviction been forced upon them 
that the adulteration of the new order of things 



announces its policy not, to give up the control of 
the free-labor reform ilntil it is finally accom- 
plished, the progress of that reform will undoubt- 
edly be far more rapid and far less difficult than 
it will be if the attitude of the government is 
such as to permit contrary hopes to be indulged 
in. / 

the freedmen's bureau a good agent to se- 
cure FREE LABOR IN THE SOUTH. 

The machinery by which the government has 
so far exercised its protection of the negro and 
of free labor in the South — the Freedmen's 
Bureau — is very unpopular in that part of the 
country, as every institution placed there as a 
barrier to reactionary aspirations would be- * 
* I feel warranted in saying 

that not half of the labor that has been done 
in the South this year, or will be done there 
next year, would have been or would be done 
but for the exertions of the Freedman's Bureau. 
The confusion and disorder of the transition 
period would have been infinitely greater had 
not an agency interfered which possessed the 
confidence of the emancipated slaves ; which 
could disabuse them of any extravagant notions 
and expectations and be trusted ; which could 
administer to them good advice and be volun- 
tarily obeyed. No other agency, except one 
placed there by the national government, could 
have wielded that moral power whose interpo- 
sition was so necessary to prevent Southern so- 
ciety from falling at once into the chaos of a 
general collision between its different elements. 
That the success achieved by the Freedmen's 
Bureau is as yet very incomplete cannot be dis- 
puted. A more perfect organization and a 
more carefully selected personnel may be de- 
sirable ; but it is doubtful whether a more suit- 
able machinery can be devised to secure to free 
labor in the South that protection against dis* 
turbing influences which the nature of the situa- 
tion still imperatively demands. 

SOUTHERN DELUSIONS. 

The Southern people honestly maintained 
and believed, not only that as a people they 
were highly civilized, but that their civilization 
was the highest that could be attained, and 
ought to serve as a model to other nations the 
world over. The more enlightened individuals 
among them felt sometimes a vague impression 
of the barrenness of their mental life, and the 
barbarous peculiarities of their social organiza- 
tion ; but very few ever dared to investigate 



by the admixture of element* belonging to the ! and to expose the true cause of these evils 
system of slavery would under no circumstances Thus the people were so wrapt up in self-ad- 

miration as to lie inaccessible to the voice even 
of the best»intentioned criticism. Hence the 
deltision they indulged in as to the absolute 
superiority of their race — a delusion which, in 
spite of the severe test it has undergone, is not 
yet given up : and will, as every traveller in 
the South can testify from experience, some- 
times express itself in singular manifestations. 



lie permitted, a much larger number would have 
launched their energies into the new channel, 
and, seeing that they could do "no better," 
faithfully co-operated with the government. It 
is hope which fixes them in their perverse no- 
lions. That hope nourished or fully gratified, 
they will persevere in the same direction. That 
hope destroyed, a great many will, by the force 



of necessity, at once accommodate themselves to I This spirit, which for so long a timft has kept 
the logic of the change. If, therefore, the na- the Southern people back while the world be- 
tional government, firmly and unequivocally I sides was moving, is even at this mome>- 



LltJKHKY Uh ^UMOPlcoo 



standing as a serious obstacle in the way of 
progress. 

The South noetls capital. But capital is no- 
toriously timid and averse to risk itself, not 
only where there actually is trouble, but where 
there is serious and continual danger of trouble. 
Capitalists will be apt to consider — and they 
are by no means wrong in doing so— that no 
safe investments can he made in the South as 
long as Southern society is liable to be con- 
vulsed by anarchical disorders. No greater 
encouragement can, therefore, be given to 
capital to transfer itself to the South than the 
assurance that the government will continue to 
control the development of the new social sys- 
tem in the late rebel States until such dangers 
are averted by a final settlement of things upon 
a thorough free-labor basis. 

NEGRO SUFFRAGE. 

In discussing the matter of negro suffrage I 
deemed it my duty to confine myself strictly to 
the practical aspects of the subject. 1 have, 
therefore, not touched its moral merits, nor 
discussed the question whether the national 
government is competent to enlarge the elect- 
ive franchise in the States lately in rebellion 
by its own act ; I deem it proper, however, to 
offer a few remarks on the assertion frequently 
put forth, that the franchise is likely to be • : 
tended to the colored man by the voluntary 
action of the Southern whites themselves. My 
observation leads me to a contrary opinion. 
Aside from a very few enlightened men, I found 
but one class of people in favor of the enfran- 
chisement of the blacks: it was tin; class of 
Unionists who found themselves politically os- 
tracised, and looked upon the enfranchisement 
of the loyal negroes as the salvation of the 
whole loyal (dement. But, their numbers and 
influence are sadly insufficient to secure such 
a. result. The masses art: strongly opposed to 
colored suffrage ; anybody that dares to advo- 
cate it is stigmatized as a dangerous fanatic; 
nor do 1 deem it probable that in the ordinary 
course of things prejudices will wear off to such 
an extent as to make it a popular measure. 

CONCLUSION. 

T may sum up all I have said in a few words. 
If nothing were necessary but to restore the 
machinery of government in the States lately in 
rebellion in point, of form, the movements made 
to that end by the people of the South might 
he considered satisfactory, hint if it is required 
that the Southern people should also accommo- 
date themselves to the results of the war in 
point of spirit, those movements fall far short 
of what must lie insisted upon. 

The loyalty of the masses and most of the 
leaders of .the Southern people, corfsists in sub- 
mission to necessity... There is, except in in- 
dividual instances, an entire absence of that 
national s'irit which lorms the basis of true 
loyalty and patriotism. 

The ennancipation of the slaves is submitted 
to only in so far as chattel slavery in the old 



perso 



OT c/uld not be kept up. But although the 



1,1 II inn, ».. m, * 

013 744 490 2 

freedman is no longer considered the property 
of the individual master, he is considered the 
slave of society, and all independent. State 
legislation will share the tendency to make him 
such. The ordinances abolishing slavery passed 
by the conventions under the pressure of cir- 
cumstances, will not be looked upon as barring 
the establishment of a new form of servitude. 

Practical attempts on the pai t of the Southern 
people to deprive the negro of his rights as a 
freeman may result, in bloody collisions, and 
will certainly plunge Southern society into rest- 
less fluctuations and anarchical confusibn. 
Such evils can be prevented only by continuing 
the control of the national government in the 
States lately in rebellion until free labor is 
fully developed and firmly established, and the 
advantages and blessingH of the new order of 
things have disclosed themselves. This desir- 
able result will be hastened by a firm declara- 
tion on the part o I the government, that na- 
tional control of the South will not cease until 
such results are seemed. Only in this way 
can that security lie established in Lite 
which w'dl render numerous immigration po 
sible, and such immigration would materially 
aid a favorable development of things, 

It will hardly be possible to secure the free- 
dom against oppressive class legislation and pri- 
vate persecution, unless he be endowed with a 
certain measure of political power. 

[ desire not to be understood as saying 'hat 
there are no well-meaning men among those 
who were compromised in the rebellion. There 
are many, bin neither their number nor their 
influence is strong enough to control the mani- 
fest tendency of the popular spirit. There are 
great reasons for hope thai- a, determined policy 
on the part of the national government will pro- 
duce innumerable and valuable conversii ns. 
This consideration counsels lenity as to persons, 
such ;is is demanded by the humane and en- 
lightened spirit of our times, and vigor and firm- 
ness in tie: carrying our. of principles, such as is 
demanded by the national sense of justice and 

the exigencies of our situation. 

* ■»■ * * * * 

I would entreat you to take no irretraceable 
step towards relieving 'he S v a:es lately in rebel- 
lion from all national .control, until snch favor- 
aide changes are clearly and unmistakably ascer- 
tained. 

To that mid, and by virtue of the permission 
you honored me with when sending me out to 
communicate to you, freely ami unreservedly, 
my views as to measures of policy proper to lie 
adopted, I would now respectfully suggest that 
you advise Congr< ss to tit ml <>n<: or more Investi- 
gating committees in'^i ike Southern States to in- 
quire for theins, Ives info the actual condition of 

things before final < tior> on readmis- 

sion of such Stat tto their representation in the 
legislative branch of the government, and the 
withdrawal of the national control from that sec- 
tion of the country. 

I a:;':, sir. very respectfully, your obedient ser 
vant, ' OAftL SCHUKZ. 

His Excellency, Andrew Johnson. 
Presid : 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 744 490 2 



pe&nulife* 
pH&5 



